Thankfully, an “inner voice” spared us the gruesome sight, but somehow the election of Ms Gandhi as the chairperson of the ruling UPA, didn’t prompt Ms Swaraj, the newly elected deputy leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, from wanting to carry out her threat even partially.

But the more things change, the less politicians learn.

India has elected its first woman President, Pratibha Patil. India has elected its first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar. And the highest number of women (59) have been elected to this, the 15th Lok Sabha, in post-independent India.

# Yet, Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav has threatened to commit suicide by consuming poison if the women’s reservation is passed in its current form. “We may not have the numbers but I will consume poison and die here but not allow the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill.”

Mr Yadav is the convenor of the BJP-led National Demcoratic Alliance (NDA), or what remains of it as of now, and he is of course entitled to his opinion.

Obviously, the caveat “in its current form” has a built-in escape clause, but if the BJP or the NDA or both plan to do some chintak on why only 18.8 people out of 100 in an 80 per cent Hindu nation do not trust them to hand them the reins of the nation, maybe they should start by wondering why they are so unappealing to one-half of the population?

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31 Responses to “A nice picture for Sharad Yadav’s personal album”

Why is the solution in India always reservations? Reservations? Reservations? Why does no one think of building better institutions and laws so there is not need for RESERVATIONS? Reservations is just tribal law taking over.

[…] likes the idea of the reservations for women in parliament. Churumuri offers a nice picture of poison to Sharad Yadav. The blogger seems, like Mr.Yadav, ‘unwilling to concede, comprehend or come to […]

RSS wants to provoke hoodlums to beat up women. Now some nutjob professional politician wants to consume poison if the women’s reservation bill is passed by democratic process. What next? Preventing women who dont live by ‘prescribed standards’ from voting?

I totally agree with Sharad Yadav. How does having 100 women in parliament benefit my mother, my sister, my aunts or for that matter my friends moms and sisters?? It’s a ridiculous bill which can only be raised and passed in our country.

Curiously, presence of a woman president does not seem to be having any effect on the status of women in the Indian society. On the other hand, the presence of a rocket scientist (thats right) as a president inspired a whole generation of youngsters!

Any clue why? Cause the scientist had a dynamic personality; he commanded respect for his vision. The woman president is beholden to the family and is as inspirational as dead wood. We all know who is better, but as usual Churumuri in its political blindness will not let truth come in the way of its conclusions :)

If there were no reservations for women in city busses, you would find plenty of thick skinned males, pushing and shoving and occupying all the seats in a bus, simply because they are stronger than the females.

Why should women suffer because nature made them physically inferior? What is the govt.there for, if it protects the interestes of the strong and powerful, but not the weak and helpless?

It would be unfair not to have reservations for handicapped people in public places.

It would be unfair not to have separate ladies compartment for ladies in Mumbai trains.

It would be unfair not to have reservations for senior citizens on the benches of public parks. I have seen benches with the words “reserved for senior citizens.” and i applaud that stance of BBMP.

it may not be a perfect analogy, but i wanted to underline that women have been treatd like doormats in large parts of India, by self-serving, chauvinistic men under the guise of ‘culture’ and ‘religion’

The socio-cultural system in our villages and towns are such that women don’t have a voice, let alone having power.

Women are as smart, efficient and intelligent as men. Only, they are denied opportunities by a male-dominated society. So reservations are a must, to bring out some sense of balance in the gender fixated society.

Reservations may be anti merit, but so is captiation fees.

I wonder why the forward class students never take up mass agitations nationwide against the menace of capitation fees.

Is it ok for rich, medicore students to get seats in professinoal colleges
but backward mediocre studetns should not?

I see student after student getting worked up on TV, deriding reservations, but NOT ONE WHIMPER of protest against donation seats.

No one is complaining about the type of reservations you have mentioned. Those are required which I and a majority of the people support. However, the same arguments don’t hold any ground when the question of reservation for women pops up in Parliament, education and elsewhere. This is because these positions are not mere facilities provided, they are positions which require a certain qualification and for which a lot of people compete. It just isn’t fair to hand it over to someone just because that person is a woman.

I agree with you when you say that women have been ill-treated for centuries in the name of culture and religion. However, I fail to see how providing reservations to women now, in 22nd century, will help erase the past bruises. Most of the women who will enjoy these benefits have not been suppressed to the oppression faced by the centuries old dogmas. Also providing reservations for women does not mean that society considers them to be equal to men, it means that society acknowledges that they are not equal to men and need the extra help of reservation. So look at it more logically and stop discriminating women by giving them reservations.

What needs to be done is to stops acts like female infanticide, early marriages for women etc. Government should bring out acts which provide good primary education to all girls so that they are equipped to handle their future, not encourage laziness by providing reservations.

“This is because these positions are not mere facilities provided, they are positions which require a certain qualification and for which a lot of people compete. It just isn’t fair to hand it over to someone just because that person is a woman.”

Exactly! I am a woman an feel offended by reservations. I would like to see women encouraged to study and more Universities opened in India. There are not even enough colleges, why are people so interested in reservations? Why do people not want a system in which the highly qualified people are able to have authority?I would like to be in a position because I qualify for it, not because I am a woman. I guess in politics with reservations for women 50% of them will be female crooks instead of make crooks (apologies for the few decent people in parliament of which there are a handful)

This smacks of a slave mentality–only in a slavish society is there need for reservations–
Prathiba Patil is President. I read a lot in the papers of Arun Shourie’s exposition of her corruption. Then I read of Sonia Gandhi who has a high school education and is a leader for Indians because she was the wife of Rajiv Gandhi who in turn was the son of Indira who in turn was the daughter of …What do you thing her reading level might be? Do you think she is capable of understanding a lot? Perhaps being the leader of a party in India does not require a lot of understanding which is why India is in the pitiable state it is in.
I mean what kind of system is this?
Are Indians a bunch of fools?

***

As for the current President, you should have seen when she went to Brazil hardly anyone stayed in Parliament to listen to her. Did her being a woman make people want to listen to her? On the other hand, when Adbul Kalam a national role model went abroad all the houses would be full and he still gets many speaking engagements.
Why are people clapping when such incompetent people like Patil are made President just because she is a woman? I don’t care for a female President or any females in Parliament. I want the best people there even if they happen to be all men.

***

Curiously, presence of a woman president does not seem to be having any effect on the status of women in the Indian society. On the other hand, the presence of a rocket scientist (thats right) as a president inspired a whole generation of youngsters!

Any clue why? Cause the scientist had a dynamic personality; he commanded respect for his vision. The woman president is beholden to the family and is as inspirational as dead wood. We all know who is better, but as usual Churumuri in its political blindness will not let truth come in the way of its conclusions :)

You are right. I did not read your comment before writing what I wrote which is more or less what you said…I find the woman President ugly because of her corruption as has been exposed well by Arun Shourie in the media. I do not care for such females whatever position they occupy.

***

But I read in the papers she was handpicked by the leader of the Congress Party–there you go women of similar calibre bringing in other women of similar calibre and more in store with the reservations…that’s what you get in a democracy….I am sure everyone misses Abdul Kalam…At least he was a role model…

This stupid policy of reservation whether to women or to some specific castes is an affront to logical thinking, equality and democracy. But our so called social scientists and intellectuals have created such a propoganda around this that it has numbed the people’s rational sensibilities.
Can anyone please explain to me in what way the women’s reservation will stop exploitation of women. The solution to womens empowerment lies elsewhere not in reservation but in education and higher social awareness of gender equality. We have had women prime minister, president, speaker, chief ministers if that is not empowering enough what else can be.

accepting parliament and bus/train as an anology weakens the arguemnt cos going by that line once u get into parliament there’d be no place for women to perform what with all the shouting and in some cases physical violence…reservation in bus/train is a segregation..in parliament its free for all..hv u heard sonia gandhi,for eg.,make any noise in parliament??

Do you feel offended that there are reservations for ladies in Bangalore buses and Mumbai trains?

Nature made females physically inferior. It is this physical inferiority which is at the root of all the evils against women. Let’s say she was physically twice as strong as a man, would then men dare rape her/eve tease her/bride burn her/molest her/throw acid on her face?

Physical inferiority becomes the foundation to push women to the fringes of the home, the corner of the kitchen and margins of the society.

yes, its an unfair situation for women to be born physcially inferior. But this unfairness can’t be let to grow. THe govt. needs to correct this unfairness by reservations in buses, trains and politics too.

At the panchayat level, if there are reservations for deserving women, it emboldens women to step out of their houses and take on more decisive roles in shaping the role of women in society.

Abdul Kalam did make lot of speeches. yea, probably the kids found it inspirational. But thats what all our leaders have been doing for generations.. Make speeches.

We need people to do work, not just make speeches.

I would have expected a President to change the way the Rashtrapathi Bhavan operates. The President of India lives like no other president in the world. For a ceremonial post, the president occupies hundreds of acres of prime space, lives in a 2000 room house, has about 1000 servants and sundry employees. The bill for mainatining and running this ceremonial designation runs into thousands of crores!

Even in rich countries, ceremonial occupants liek the presidetn of India, don’t live like a Maharaja! In our country where the per capita income has just touched Rs. 3000/ it is ironical that the president lives like an Emperor.

And all for what? Making speeches!!!!!!

Abdul Kalam was a good scientiest no doubt, but as a president he did notthing different from his predecessors. Except making speeches!

Pratibha Patil may not be the most exceptional person to occupy the President’s chair in India.

Neither is Arun Shourie the most exceptional person to occupy a Cabinet Ministers chair.

Arun Shourie is another person who makes a lot of ‘intellectual’ speeches. But as a cabinet minister, his administration was far from being good.

Coincidentally, this election has shown that people who don’t make speeches win.

Simple – What else was Abdul kalam supposed to do? What has Pratibha Patil done apart from not making speeches? And why did Abdul Kalam (from a minority person community) not find support from congress or the left?

Simple – I am not interested in who is appeasing whom. I only wanted to know why congress would not support a muslim candidate for presidentship when it wanted to promote muslims (Question). Whether supporting Kalam means appeasement by BJP or not is a separate matter. Also, I wanted to know what Abdul kalam could have or should have done as the president apart from making speeches (Question).

Further, my question was what indeed has Pratibha Patil done if she has not done speeches (Question)? I am perfectly ok in applauding Pratibha Patil if she has done anything else.

All I am looking to understand is answeres to above questions. If you could throw light pls.

Of course I do. Women might be physically weaker than men but mentally they are not so if given opportunities…but this opportunity does not translate into them given affirmative action, but rather more universities opened and more access to education. Indians are gradually losing the imagination to demand things such as more Universities, more access to education for all–the government just solves problems the slavish way by affirmative action–it does not even bother to try to build more universities or grant univeral education to all…

ut BJP supported Kalam. Clear sign of muslim appeasement by BJP.

It is appeasement to you. It is the selection of a capable person, not appeasement.

Sorry the bovines in Parliament are no role models for any intelligent women!

***

@simple
Pratibha Patil may not be the most exceptional person to occupy the President’s chair in India.

A generous understatement…Lets bring anyone cause she is a woman. This is the logic of your kind of thinking. And it is absurd to compare reservations of bus seats for the handicapped to reservations for women in Parliament. So you want mentally handicapped people in Parliament? I do not want any more such people than are already there. What is the difference if they happen to be men or women if they are unqualified as as such handicapped in this fashion? Lets raise an uproar because we cannot get into universities because of reservations for politicans’ children and reservations for people scoring low on exams. Why have we lost the imagination to even aim for a system that provides equal access to education to all, which tries to open more universities instead of opting for a slavish solution and lowering standards? I want the ablest people everywhere, does not matter if they be men or woman!

1. Why don’t you feel offended if there are reservations for women in buses and trains? Are you ok with men shoving and pushing women and molesting them in trains and buses? If reservations is not the answer, then what is? Education for men not to be rapists and molesters?

2. Reservations for women at Panchayat level have proved to be a smashing success. Women who were being treated as doormats, are now less vulnerable to male ill treatment.

3. You never mentioned anything about Mr. Kalam, who was an excpetional scientist but as a President, he did notthing better than his predecessors. Excpet making speeches.

Why don’t you feel offended if there are reservations for women in buses and trains? Are you ok with men shoving and pushing women and molesting them in trains and buses?

I don’t know about others, but I do not expect to get a seat on the bus. I am capable of standing. Women getting a seat on the bus is not affirmative action.

Abdul Kalam inspired many young people to go in the sciences and he contributed a lot to Indian defense. Don’t know what you are talking about. You cannot even compare a man of his calibre to the current President.

ah. so you seem ok with pregnant women standing in the bus, while young men take up bus seats.

so you seem ok with old, shrivelled weak women swaying back and forth in the bus, while robust young men sit and lech at women.

so you seem ok with woman with babies in the hand, struggling to even stand in a bus, while strong young men relax in their seats

so you seem ok with women being treated like cattle in large parts of india.

So you seem ok with sexual exploitation of women. Women aer sexually expolited, because they are weak. if women were physicall twice as strong as men, would they dare sexually abuse?

Kalam inspired many young people to take sciences? wehre is the proof for that? is there any quantitative study done pre Kalam and post Kalam era vis a vis the number of students taking up sciences? Or is it hollow palahalli type loud talk and zero substance?

Kalam is a great scientist and his focus was only on science. he did notthing special that his predecessors did not do. except making science speeches. We can get scientsist to do that. not a president.

A scientist is better utilised as a scientist not as a president. Kalam did nothing to change the way the Rashtrapathi bhavan operates